The term “purgatory” comes from the infinitive form of the Latin purgare, to purify. The belief in purgatory (or state of purgation following the death of an individual) is rooted in Roman Catholic tradition. Although the early apostolic Church was not focused on purgatory, nor was there any directly recorded mention of such a place or condition in apostolic times, the concept and tradition of it grew in the writings of the early church fathers.

The decline in belief in the existence of purgatory by Protestants began during Martin Luther’s time, although it is interesting to note that in Luther’s 95 theses, wherein he questioned the abuses in the selling of indulgences, he was initially in agreement with the concept.

However, later in his life, Luther espoused the doctrine of the sleep of the soul upon one’s death, using this idea as a refutation of purgatory and the veneration of saints. While Luther is not always consistent, the predominant note running all through his writings is that the souls of the just sleep in peace, without consciousness or pain.

Luther initially accepted the belief in purgatory. In 1519 he even said that its existence was undeniable. By 1530 he had changed his mind; he said that purgatory could not be proven to exist from biblical passages. Later that year he rejected the concept of purgatory entirely.

According to Luther’s “sleep of peace,” the Christian dead are not aware of anything — see not, feel not, understand not, and are not conscious of passing events. Luther held and periodically stated that in the sleep of death, as in normal physical sleep, there is complete unconsciousness and unawareness of the condition of death or the passage of time. Death is a deep, sound, sweet sleep. According to Luther, the dead will remain asleep until the final day of resurrection when both body and soul will come together again.

The concept of a place of purgation for souls whose lives have been morally mediocre should make sense philosophically for Christians. The reasoning is simple: A person, who, in his or her life has knowledge of God’s call to perfection (Matthew 5:48), and chooses not to heed that call wholeheartedly, enters into the next life hampered by a spiritual uncleanness. This state of a soul which has not rejected God totally demands cleansing before the individual may enjoy the permanent happiness of heaven. This philosophical reasoning leads to the conclusion that there must be a state or condition, temporary to be sure, wherein the soul realizes its inadequacy and is denied full access to total union with its Creator until the dross of an imperfect life is cleansed.

It is as if the child who is called to dinner with dirty hands is told by its parent to wash before eating. However, this analogy is imperfect, because there is no ability, on the part of the soul, after death, to perform meritorious actions. To improve on the analogy, the parent must wash the child’s hands before eating.

Protestantism has generally dismissed the concept, due to its belief that Jesus Christ’s redemptive act assures salvation for those who accept Christ as their savior. Protestantism generally rejects the effectiveness of good works as a necessary condition for salvation, focusing instead on faith in Christ and His love for those who accept Him.

Judaism went through an evolution of belief regarding the afterlife. Sheol was often cited in the Psalms as the place where souls went after death. At times in the Old Testament, Sheol carries with it a sense of an unending state of misery — if not one of pain and suffering, certainly one of hopelessness. Yet, in other places, Sheol takes on characteristics of the purgatory of Catholicism.

Where Catholics find purgatory before its definition as dogma in the Councils of Florence and Trent is in the writings of the early church fathers and later writers — in other words, in the church’s tradition.

Tertullian, Origen, Cyril, Basil, Cyprian, Ephram, Ambrose, Augustine, John Chrysostom, Caesarius of Arles, and Gregory the Great … all give witness to the early belief in purgatory.

For example, in his “Treatise on the Soul,” Tertullian (160-235) explains:

All souls, therefore; are shut up within Hades: do you admit this? It is true, whether you say yes or no: moreover, there are already experienced there punishments and consolations… no one will hesitate to believe that the soul undergoes in Hades some compensatory discipline, without prejudice to the full process of the resurrection, when the recompense will be administered through the flesh besides.

Later, Origen (185-254), in “Homilies on Jeremias,” is more graphic in his description of purgatory:

For if on the foundation of Christ you have built not only gold and silver and precious stones (1 Cor.,3); but also wood and hay and stubble, what do you expect when the soul shall be separated from the body? Would you enter into heaven with your wood and hay and stubble and thus defile the kingdom of God; or on account of these hindrances would you remain without and receive no reward for your gold and silver and precious stones; neither is this just. It remains then that you be committed to the fire which will burn the light materials; for our God to those who can comprehend heavenly things is called a cleansing fire. But this fire consumes not the creature, but what the creature has himself built, wood, and hay and stubble. It is manifest that the fire destroys the wood of our transgressions and then returns to us the reward of our great works.

St. Gregory of Nyssa (d. 385) wrote in his “Sermon on the Dead”:

When he has quitted his body and the difference between virtue and vice is known he cannot approach God till the purging fire shall have cleansed the stains with which his soul was infested. That same fire in others will cancel the corruption of matter, and the propensity to evil.

St. Augustine (354-430) in his famous “City of God” wrote:

But temporary punishments are suffered by some in this life only, by others after death, by others both now and then; but all of them before that last and strictest judgment. But of those who suffer temporary punishments after death, all are not doomed to those everlasting pains which are to follow that judgment; for to some, as we have already said, what is not remitted in this world is remitted in the next, that is, they are not punished with the eternal punishment of the world to come.

There is much more to the history of the development of the concept of purgatory. One such element is the “Divine Comedy” by Dante Alighieri (1265-1361).

Beginning in 1308, when he was in his early 40s, Dante began work on the Divine Comedy. The poem is written in the first person, and tells of Dante’s journey through the three realms of the dead. The Roman poet Virgil guides him through hell and purgatory.

Having survived the depths of hell, Dante and Virgil ascend to the mountain of purgatory on the far side of the world. The mountain is on an island, created with earth taken from the excavation of hell. At the shores of the mountain, they meet Cato, a pagan who has been placed by God as the general guardian of the approach to the mountain.

Dante and Virgil start the ascent of Mount purgatory. On the lower slopes Dante meets first a group of those excommunicated from the church. Ascending higher, he encounters those too lazy to repent until shortly before death. These souls will be admitted to purgatory thanks to their genuine repentance, but must wait outside for an amount of time equal to their lives on earth. Finally, Dante is shown a beautiful valley where he sees the kings of the great nations of Europe, and a number of other persons whose attention to public and private duties hampered their faith. From this valley Dante is transported asleep to the gates of purgatory itself.

From there, Virgil guides Dante through the seven levels of purgatory. These correspond to the seven deadly sins, in which souls are purged of that particular sin in an appropriate manner. Souls can leave their level whenever they like, but essentially there is an honor system where no one leaves until they have corrected the nature within themselves that caused them to commit that sin. Souls can ascend upwards but never backwards, since purgatory’s purpose is for souls to ascend towards God in heaven.

The visual imagery Dante uses is memorable. For example, on the first level, the proud are purged by carrying giant stones on their backs, unable to stand up straight. On the second, those who were envious are purged by having their eyes sewn shut. On the third, those who were angry are blinded by smoke. On the fourth, the lazy must continually run. On the fifth, the greedy are forced to lie with their faces in the dirt. On the sixth, those who committed the sin of gluttony are unable to secure food or drink. On the seventh, the lustful must burn in a wall of flames. However, as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, and Dante’s images of purgatory no doubt influenced the uneducated and educated alike.

As to other religions, Eastern Orthodox theology does not generally describe the situation of the dead as involving suffering or fire, although it nevertheless describes it as a “direful condition.”

Anglo-Catholic Anglicans, not Anglicans in general, generally also hold to the belief. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, believed in an intermediate state between death and the final judgment and in the possibility of “continuing to grow in holiness there,” but Methodism does not officially affirm his belief and denies the possibility of helping by prayer any who may be in that state.

Today, Judaism accepts the possibility of the cleansing of the soul after death, with some rabbinical teaching that one may spend up to a year in their version of purgatory, Gehenna.

Islam does not speak of purgatory; however, the Islamic version of hell may be temporary or permanent.

So what is the current Catholic teaching on purgatory, and indulgences which helped to foment the Protestant Reformation?

Catholicism, while considering the existence of purgatory to be dogma, has, at least in its liturgy, moved away from earlier concepts of purgatory as a temporary hell to one of lesser concern for the ordinary member of the faithful. Purgatory is rarely, if ever, mentioned at wakes or funerals. In the official liturgical prayers, while implied, the term is never used.

Prayers at a funeral mass often refer to Christ’s resurrection and its connection to the deceased: An example: “Grant that through this mystery your servant N., who has gone to his/her rest in Christ, may share in the joy of his resurrection.”

There is an implied reference to purgatory in some of the final commendation prayers. For example: “Merciful Lord, turn toward us and listen to our prayers: open the gates of paradise to your servant and help us who remain to comfort one another with assurances of faith, until we all meet in Christ …”

As to indulgences (the remission of temporary punishment left over from forgiven sin) in Catholicism, gone are the days of the abuses Luther cited. Today, indulgences are still granted to the faithful. The practice of granting indulgences has always been based on Christ’s words to Peter: “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19.)

Indulgences are classified as “partial” and “plenary.” No longer are lengthy prayers given in order to earn a partial indulgence nor are there dispensations of 100, 300 days, one year, seven years, etc. of release from purgatory. These have been replaced by simple partial acts: Examples from the Enchiridion (Manual of Indulgences):

“A partial indulgence is granted to the Christian faithful who, while carrying out their duties and enduring the hardships of life, raise their minds in humble trust to God and make, at least mentally, some pious invocation.”

“A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who, led by the spirit of faith, give compassionately of themselves or of their goods to serve their brothers in need.”

Almsgiving is still able to earn a partial indulgence, but certainly there is no mention of amounts of money to be given as in the pre-Reformation period; the focus today is on compassionate giving of oneself in service or in donations to food pantries, etc.

Plenary indulgences have been limited in number. At a person’s point of death, a plenary indulgence is able to be gained. Other plenary indulgences are available for Eucharistic adoration, special feasts, pilgrimages, and other specific exercises. The changes from the pre-Reformation plenary indulgences are now focused on spiritual growth and piety.

To continue the historical explanation of the doctrinal development by Roman Catholicism, the issue of indulgences, and the ultimate rejection of the idea of purgatory by Protestantism, may I suggest my book, “Purgatory: An Historical and Contemporary Analysis.”

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 18th, 2009 at 7:00 am and is filed under Theology Today & the World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.